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I’ve had a lot on my plate the past couple weeks, and had a very emotional evening so I decided to attend a Hot Yoga class last night. I haven’t been to one in a while and every time I go, I always feel refreshed, both physically and mentally. Let me just say, the class was PACKED, but I instantly felt the energy upon entering the room. I am so happy I went. It definitely eased my mind and gave me a good stretch..especially the Pigeon pose (my favorite!) This is a great hip flexor stretch to do if you’re a runner!

Now for today…

Happy Hump Day Ya’ll! I woke up this morning feeling a little groggy from staying up until 1:30 AM watching all the presidential election shenanigans. All I will say is, I am so grateful for the results and especially grateful for caffeine!

I knew I needed to get in a quick workout before work this morning so I completed the total body jump rope circuit workout I created yesterday (I was supposed to do Workout B from Best Body Boot Camp but I didn’t have time to go to the gym before work and I know I won’t go after). Yay for at-home exercising! I think I underestimated how sweaty the jump rope circuit would actually make me. By the end of the first round, I was red-faced and glistening. This workout is no joke!

I need to go on a quick 3 mile run after work if I’m going to run this half marathon on Sunday! Crossing my fingers that I will be able to transfer from the 8K I originally registered for to the Half Marathon 🙂 I find out on Friday!

So, I went to bed last night with the greatest intention of waking up early this morning and getting in a good workout. Needless to say, that didn’t happen. My alarm went off at 5 AM and I quickly reset it for 6:30 AM. I think my body (and mind) will thank me later in the day. Once I woke up, I spent about 20 minutes searching different blogs for something to make for breakfast. I knew I wanted something warm and hearty since it was a whopping 32 degrees outside! Talk about COLD! What’s better than pancakes? Yummy and filling J I found a great recipe on Edible Perspectives for Coconut Flax Pancakes with a Greek yogurt drizzle on top. Sounded perfect to me! I ended up using Blueberry Chobani and eliminating the strawberries. It was fairly simple & quick to make, and 3 hours later, I’m still full (which is surprising for me!)

After scarfing down my breakfast and getting ready for work, I headed out the door to go rock my vote for this year’s election! Surprisingly, this is my first year voting. I was eligible to vote last presidential election but I felt as though I was not interested enough in politics to just go out and vote just because I could. I feel very strongly about “voting just to vote.” I believe people should be knowledgeable about what they are voting for, rather than just voting for a Republican or Democratic Party because that is who their parents support. Let me just say that I am proud of my decision and it is a wonderful feeling knowing that I have made a difference in this upcoming election.

On a different note, I found this quote this morning and it has really given me the inspiration and motivation I need for this upcoming work day (and I hope it will for you as well!)

There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow. So today is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live.

– Dalai Lama

There is nothing we can do about yesterday, it is gone. There is nothing we can do about tomorrow, it has yet to come. Live in the present and make your choices in the now; do what makes you happy now. Remember, tomorrow is not promised, this may be your only chance.

P.S. I created a kick-butt total-body-jumprope-circuit workout and I can’t wait to complete it after work and share it with you all! Hope everyone has a rockin’ Tuesday!

I woke up this morning dying to go on a long run but when I looked outside and saw how rainy and cold it was, I knew it was going to be a treadmill interval day, which was A-okay with me! The chilly weather was also making me crave some hot oatmeal but since I had prepared overnight oats last night, I was forced to eat those. They turned out to be pretty tasty so in the end, I wasn’t too bummed about it. I didn’t follow any particular recipe when I made the overnight oats, it was kind of just a go-with-whatcha-got type of thing 🙂 The recipe looked like this:

1/2 cups of old fashioned oats

1- 6 oz container of vanilla Chobani

1 tbsp peanut butter

1 tbsp apple butter

1 tbsp chia seeds

1/4 cup vanilla unsweetened almond milk

2 packets of Truvia

tah-dah!

They definitely filled me up and gave me enough energy for my run! After digesting for a couple hours I headed to our apartment complex gym and completed my Stress-Be-Gone interval workout. If the entire workout is completed, you will have ran 7 miles! Whoohoo! However, some of you may not be as crazy as I am and you may pick and choose the order and speed. Caution: You WILL be EXTRA sweaty after this one!

I felt very accomplished after this one! Once I got home, I poured myself a nice glass of chocolate milk and iced my knee. For the past couple weeks my left knee has really been bothering me. It would probably be a good idea to a.) go see a doctor and b.) give it some rest but I’m very stubborn. Maybe one day..

my favorite post-run snack!

I totally forgot to take a picture of my lunch which consisted of, 1/3 cup of egg whites, a handful of spinach, some mushrooms and zucchini, 1/3 cup of canned chicken and 2 tbsp of garlic hummus. Oh my was this good! I was still a little hungry after that so I grabbed a chocolate fudge thinkThin bar.

healthy alternative to chocolate!

The great thing about the thinkThin bars are they have ZERO sugar, lots of protein and for all you gluten-free-ers out there, no gluten! Time to enjoy the rest of my day! Happy Tuesday! 🙂

After not blogging for about a week and a half, I’m back! My schedule has been crazy between visiting Norfolk, visiting my parents in Nags Head and applying for jobs, so I have sadly been neglecting Strides & Sweets 😦 After some of my sorority sisters bug me about wanting to read my blog, I decided it was about time to get back on the blog train!

I started out my morning with a five mile run. It was very cloudy, and it actually started sprinkling half way through, but the breeze felt fantastic. I stopped my training plan that I was following for the Wicked 10k that I’ll be participating in, in a few weeks, simply because I noticed that I’ve been on a running schedule since May, back when I started my half-marathon training. Being on a plan for that long, at least for me, takes away the joy of running. I found myself dreading to do the “assigned” workout of the day (especially the 9 x 400s) and I don’t want running to become reluctant. I genuinely love running and I want every run to be desired, not forced. With that said, I just run every two days. I run whatever my body is telling me, whether it’s a long, hard run, a short, easy run or treadmill intervals. In between, I’ve been focusing on strength training with the help of Casey 🙂 and hot yoga. Hot yoga is extremely beneficial, especially for runners (not to mention a great detox!) After completing my run, I walked through the door and found myself craving something warm. Luckily, I had something in mind that I’ve been wanting to try for weeks now.

I’ve been going back and forth about whether or not I want to experiment with the “Paleo Diet.” I honestly think I could do it no problem, if it weren’t for the “no peanut butter or Greek yogurt” rule. Despite that, I made Paleo oatmeal for breakfast. I came across the recipe while reading Peanut Butter Fingers, in which she found the original recipe from Joelle, blogger of On a Pink Typewriter. (You can find her original recipe by clicking the link!) I mostly followed Joelle’s recipe, except, since I didn’t have cinnamon or vanilla extract, I just swapped them for 2 packets of Truvia. I originally planned on using pumpkin pie spice to substitute the cinnamon, but after realizing that the flax seed I purchased at Kroger yesterday had mixed berries in it, I decided against it.

finished product!

I ended up adding a handful of blueberries and a tablespoon of almond butter to thicken it up a bit! Although peanut butter is a no-no, almond butter is Paleo-friendly! Apparently peanuts are considered a legume, not a nut? Who woulda thought?

In all honesty, my initial reaction to trying the “oatmeal” was “eh.” I guess I had high expectations for this to be similar to real old fashioned oats. After eating a few bites, I slowly became accustomed to the texture, which is very fluffy. It kind of reminds me of bread pudding almost? Or chocolate mousse? I’ll definitely be making it again though, it’s filling and satisfying!

I hope everyone has a happy Thursday! I’m off to donate plasma. This should be interesting..

Although hearing the alarm go off and dragging myself out of bed before the sun is even awake might possibly be one of the most evil things ever known to man kind, watching the sunrise as I run always reminds how worth it is. This morning I ran 6 miles. Saturdays are supposed to be my ‘long run days’ but since I’ll be in Norfolk and having a grand ol’ time with my Zetas, I know I won’t get any sort of workout in. 😛 I knew I wanted to participate in the Wicked 10K again this year so not soon after my half marathon, I created a 10k training plan. I’m tellin’ you, I’m a running fanatic! I will be honest though, I haven’t been the best at really sticking to it; between moving and job searching, my runs have been extremely frustrating. I was looking through Pinterest this morning to get some motivation and I stumbled across this from Jenny Sugar on FitSugar which was all I needed:

Always remember that tomorrow, you want to be proud of what you did yesterday, not regretful. Do what you love, everyday. Make each day have a purpose.

Once I stepped outside and realized how chilly it was (fall is finally here, yay!) I decided to make it a treadmill-semi-interval-long-run-kinda-day. As much as I enjoy running outside, running on the treadmill gives me the chance to listen to my audiobook I downloaded a while back. Laugh all you want but for me it helps me focus on listening to the story rather than concentrating on how much further I have until I’m done. After lacing up my shoes and eating a small banana I headed to the gym.

Awesome read! She’s like a female Nicholas Sparks!

I stepped on the treadmill and instantly remembered I had stashed a couple mints from a friends’ work last night. I have this weird habit of always having to chew on something when I run whether its a mint or a piece of gum. I think it’s another mental thing? It helps me focus and concentrate? Who knows.

They even have Breast Cancer Awareness ribbons on them! 🙂

I made up my run as I went but kept a mental note of it so I could come home and share with with you all. I was definitely red-faced and sweaty when I left but felt great about it. Maybe I’m starting to get my stride back. 😉 Here’s a break down of my 6 mile treadmill run. If you follow it exactly, it will have you finishing 6 miles in a little over 52 minutes which is goal finish time for the Wicked 10K!

One book and fifty-two minutes later, I was done!

I originally had planned on coming home grabbing a small bite to eat and heading to Hot Yoga at 9:30 but my stomach was screaming at me to eat so, I listened. I was craving peanut butter and carbs and of course Greek yogurt, so I whipped up something quick. While I toasted a whole wheat English muffin, I grabbed a strawberry Greek yogurt out of the fridge, took a little from the container and mixed a tablespoon of peanut butter with it.

I spread the mixture onto the toasted English muffin and ate the remaining yogurt by itself.

Voila! A quick, healthy breakfast!

No more hunger pangs=happy girl.

Now, I’m off to do a little cleaning and packing before making my mini road trip to the 757! I’ll post an update later tonight!